Ep. 379 – Alok Vaid Menon: Self-Expression is The Medicine

THE INTERVIEW

K+L originally spoke to Alok Vaid Menon about two years ago — or, in 2020 terms, a lifetime ago — and it continues to be a relevant and important conversation for us to share. There are few people who have had such a lasting impact, not just from the show but from life. K+L left this conversation feeling more human, more connected, more aware of how they affect others: exactly what our world desperately needs more of right now. Alok also recently released a book, “Beyond the Gender Binary,” which shows that gender is a malleable and creative form of expression only limited by your creativity. So, to celebrate the book and this beautiful, powerful, kind, and heart-centered soul, we wanted to share the conversation again.

We also talk about:

• The ins and outs of your passion being your business
• Growing up (emotionally repressed) in a small Texas town
• Southern “politeness”
• Balancing being a strong example for others + being a complex, flawed human
• Why it hurts when we turn someone into a metaphor and a symbol
• Visibility does not mean safety for women and trans people
• Where Alok developed their emotional vocabulary
• Gender + shame
• Learning not to fear their own gender nonconformity
• The psychology of fascism
• Why Alok is frustrated by the individualism of self-care
• The people who bully us want to be us
• Aesthetics as political resistance
• Violence against gender non-conforming individuals has escalated over the past few years
• What we can all do, every day, to challenge the current paradigm

Resources:

• Get yourself a copy of “Beyond the Gender Binary”
• Or donate a copy of the book to an LGBTQ youth
• Learn more | alokvmenon.com
• Instagram | @alokvmenon
• Twitter | @alokvmenon
• YouTube | youtube.com/channel/UCG_G2mCoGdNUIOPaPrgorHg

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